Does it look like Bigbie and Encarnacion will be at the corners? Seems like the power department will take a hit. Encarnacion did have his moments last year. Is there anything else in the works? As far as maybe bringing in a big bat at one of those spots?

encarnacion figures to get the bulk of the playing time in right. left looks to be up for grabs between bigbie, taguchi and john rodriguez. too early to pick a favorite right now. doesnt appear that anything is in the works. the budget doesnt really allow for a big bat. if they had plans on getting one those plans ended when encarnacion signed.

Would think the way John Rodriguez hit this winter, he'd be the favorite for LF. Bigbie and Taguchi will most likely be the back-ups.

...Boston papers now and then suffer a sharp flurry of arithmetic on this score; indeed, for Williams to have distributed all his hits so they did nobody else any good would constitute a feat of placement unparalleled in the annals of selfishness. -Updike

After reading a few articles about players doing well in Winter Leagues, I started to wonder how well success in the winter translates to the regular season. Can we expect players such as John Rodriguez to continue to hit well against Major League pitching, as he is in Puerto Rico?-- Dan S., Florissant, Mo.

The translation isn't that great, because the level of competition is probably equivalent to the high Minors -- so don't expect Rodriguez to hit .340 with major power this year.

I do think, however, that in the case of someone such as Rodriguez, every at-bat helps, and the increased confidence of a successful winter can only help him. He has some things that he needs to work on -- like pitch recognition and handling offspeed and breaking pitches -- but every game where he keeps hitting is encouraging.

JTWood wrote:Frankly, I think there are much worse options than platooning Taguchi, J-Rod, and Bigbie in left. I'm not too concerned about that as long as Rolen, Pujols, and Edmonds stay healthy.

i had high and unrealistic hopes of someone like giles (although i dont know if i like that contract) or a marquis trade (for mench?) so in that sense i am a little disappointed with encarnacion and a platoon. they should be fine though, as you noted, as long as pujols, rolen, and edmonds do their usual thing. spivey and luna should equal or surpass grudz's production. i would hope rolen could surpass nunez's production. most players not named tino martinez tend to have good seasons in stl. the cards should again be near the top of the NL in runs scored.

ST. LOUIS -- If there's one word that brings a smile to the face of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa in the spring, it's competition. The St. Louis skipper loves it when his players have to fight for a spot. He feels it's healthy not only for the players, but for the club.

Suffice it to say that this spring should please La Russa. In addition to a fifth-starter derby, the Cardinals have two spots in the lineup that will be up for grabs. There's no set second baseman or left fielder following the free agent departures of Mark Grudzielanek and Reggie Sanders to Kansas City.

If this sounds familiar, it's because those same two positions have seen plenty of battles in recent years. In 2003, the Redbirds came to camp with as many as seven left field candidates. In 2004, Roger Dean Stadium was the site of a three-way battle for the starting second base job.

In 2006, there are three realistic candidates in left, and potentially four at second base. In each case, there's a favorite -- but not a prohibitive favorite. So Taguchi has a leg up on Larry Bigbie and John Rodriguez in left, and Junior Spivey is a mild front-runner over Deivi Cruz, Hector Luna and Aaron Miles at the keystone corner. But that's all subject to change.

"So's not going in equal to Bigbie and Rodriguez," La Russa said. "You've got to give him credit for what he did. I think Junior has got some credentials. He's also been hurt a lot the last two years. I think that's pretty even going in."

Taguchi has never been a full-time starter, but he was pressed into nearly everyday service in 2005 and responded well. The right-handed-hitting defensive whiz batted .288/.322/.412 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) on the year. That's far from star quality, but pretty decent when you figure in his fly-catching skills.

Rodriguez, a major find by Cardinals farm director Bruce Manno and staff, put up a .295/.382/.436 line and enjoyed a brilliant winter. He's nowhere near the defender that Taguchi is, but his offensive potential is intriguing.

This will be the first spring in Cardinals camp for Rodriguez, and it's quite an opportunity.

"All I can do is worry about myself," he said. "I can't worry about what other people are going to decide. As long as I take care of my business, everything will be fine."

Bigbie was acquired along with Miles in the trade that sent Ray King to Colorado. Like Taguchi, he is considered a fine defensive outfielder, and he has the ability to play center. Like Rodriguez, he's a left-handed swinger, which may help in a heavily right-handed lineup.

Bigbie was once regarded as something of a rising star, and at 28, he's still relatively young. In 2003, his best season, Bigbie put up a .365 on-base percentage and slugged .456. If he could put up those types of numbers along with quality defense, he'd be a significant asset.

"I just look at Spring Training," said La Russa. "Situations change. [Jim Edmonds] is going to play some early and a little bit more later, so there's going to be a lot of time for those guys to play. There are a lot of at-bats for those key guys. Let them duke it out."

Second base, meanwhile, has the potential to be a little more cut-and-dried than left field. Then again, it also has the potential to be more of a mess.

If Spivey is healthy for the first time since early in 2004, he just about has to be the guy. He was a deserving All-Star in 2002, when he hit .301/.389/.476 and scored 103 runs with the Diamondbacks. In 2004, he was on his way to another excellent season, compiling a .272/.359/.421 line before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. He hasn't been the same since, but the Cards are hoping he has recovered fully.

Should Spivey stumble, the door would open for one of the other candidates. Luna, a former Rule 5 Draft pick, has shown flashes of legitimate offensive potential in his two years in the big leagues, but it's unclear whether he'd make a sufficient defensive second baseman.

Miles, 29, never quite developed into an offensive force in Colorado, putting up OBPs of .329 and .306 and slugging .368 and .355 in his two years at a higher altitude. But he has a little speed and he's a switch-hitter. Cruz, the veteran at 33, has never been much of an on-base guy, but has flashed power at times. His versatility may be his greatest asset, and he's more likely to make the team as a utilityman than the starter.

As for La Russa, he'd rather not make those assessments yet. He just wants to watch the competition.

"It's one of those questions that you don't need to answer," he said. "Opening Day, that's when you need to start answering things. If you have a guy who's going to not get as many at-bats as some of those guys who are competing, you need to say that. But as long as they get at-bats, any one of those guys could come in and dominate."

Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

JTWood wrote:Frankly, I think there are much worse options than platooning Taguchi, J-Rod, and Bigbie in left. I'm not too concerned about that as long as Rolen, Pujols, and Edmonds stay healthy.

I agree, but I suppose I'm overly pesimistic. I mean how effective will Rolen really be right away? Edmonds isn't getting any younger. Pujols is Pujols so there's no worries there, but one guy can't carry a team like he can during the post season. Hopefully the pitching iwll be just as good with Reyes replacing Morris, and if Ponson pans out that's just a bonus IMO. Back to the OF question though, it looks like it's gonna turn into a platoon type deal until someone comes up and takes it full time.